Association hosts Japanese delegation to learn about sewage facility maintenance

Posted: 28 July 2017

On Monday 10 July, the Australian Water Association facilitated a visit from a delegation of 27 Japanese Water Professionals to Sydney as part of an International exchange on maintenance and management of sewer facilities. The purpose of the trip was to learn from Australia’s approach in managing sewerage systems.

Japanese delegation

Japanese sewage facilities in recent years have undergone significant change including introduction of advanced treatment processes, reuse of bio-solids, and increasing levels of automation to enable greater efficiencies in the management and maintenance of wastewater assets. There has also been a focus on enabling private sector participation in the delivery of wastewater management; areas which they Australian water sector are well positioned to support Japan with.

The delegation received presentations from the Association on Australia’s water reform journey and Django Seccombe, Lead Planner, Integrated System Planning at Sydney Water. Django spoke about Sydney Water’s vision to become a world class, customer focused water provider and the future focus which enables water sensitive urban planning and higher levels of innovation to address the challenges of population growth, climate change and aging of infrastructure.

The delegation also visited Newcastle on the following day to hear from Hunter Water on their wastewater treatment innovations, specifically opportunities to increase the generation of renewable energy from Biosolids. The delegation heard from Darren Cleary, Executive Manager Planning & Strategy on benchmarking applied and safety improvements which have been introduced into the operation of Hunter Water’s wastewater assets. The delegation also visited Hunter Water’s Kooragang Recycled Water Scheme, the largest water recycling project in the Hunter Region which has a current delivery capacity of 9 million litres per day, as well as a brief tour of the recycled water Education Facility used to educate school and community groups.

The Association continues to play a role in capacity building for many countries overseas as part of our International Program. We see value in our members meeting with In-bound tour groups to demonstrate the many technologies and services on offer and how they are applied. Should you wish to get involved with the Association’s in-bound programs please contact Robbie Goedecke, International Projects Officer.
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